You don't have to be a distracted driver

I was driving down Blackfoot Trail the other day, trying to find an obscure (or in other words, new to me) retail location.

As I contemplated turning left or right during heavy traffic, I reached for my iPhone and its wonderful GoogleMaps app. And its wonderful GPS app.

Then I remembered the new distracted driving law.

So I reached for the hand-scrawled note on the seat beside me. It had the name of the business, but no directions.

Hmmm.

Would it be wrong to plug name into my phone? Yes, of course. I should have done that before leaving home (but … I hadn’t).

And even if I had, wouldn’t it be wrong to keep looking at the map as I closed in on my destination?

Sometimes I’m not sure any more. I’m not sure that driving while scanning the landscape for an address, sign or landmark isn’t “distracted driving”. What about phoning someone to give you directions as you near your destination?

In the end, I got there the old fashioned way. It really wasn’t that traumatic. I just did what I would have done a couple of years ago before the iPhone entered my world.

As it turns out, there is plenty of technology on the market to keep us safe from both accidents and distracted driving tickets.

Tomorrow’s Technology and You page delves into some of the latest gadgets.

Bluetooth headsets and Bluetooth speaker phones are at the top of the list, but there are other options, too. You can try a plug-in for your phone if your car has an auxiliary input, for example, and take calls that way.

The CAA argues that the law doesn’t go far enough, because drivers aren’t really putting down their phones.

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